DISCERNING BETWEEN TRUE AND FALSE GUIDANCE

A presentation by:

Dr. Peter Hammond

I Asked

the Lord

1: I asked the

Lord that I might

grow,

in faith and love,

and every grace;

might more of His

salvation know,

and seek, more

earnestly, His face.

2: ‘Twas He that led me thus to pray,

and He, I know, has answered prayer;

but it has been in such a way,

as almost drove me to despair.

3: I hoped that in

some favoured hour,

My Lord would

answer my request;

and would by His

constraining power,

subdue my sins and

give me rest.

4: Instead of

this, He made me

feel,

the hidden evils of

my heart;

And let the angry

powers of hell,

assault my soul in

every part.

5: Then, with His

own strong hand,

He seemed

intent to aggravate

my woe;

‘thwarted the fair

designs I schemed,

withered my

pleasures, laid me

low.

6: “Lord, why is

this?” I trembling

cried,

“wilt Thou pursue

my soul to death?”

“This is the way”

the Lord replied,

“I answer prayer for

grace and faith …

7: “These inward

trials I employ,

from self and pride

to set you free;

And break your

schemes of earthly

joy,

that you may find

your all in Me.”

DISCERNING BETWEEN TRUE AND FALSE GUIDANCE

A presentation by:

Dr. Peter Hammond

“The humble He guides in justice, and the humble He

teaches His way. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, to such as keep

His Covenant and His testimonies.” Psalm 25:9-10

False Guidance

Anyone who has been involved in ministry for any length of time

would have come across some

bizarre examples of how some

Christians seek “guidance.”(Lucky Dip method)

As I have been involved in Missions for over 35 years,I regularly have been confronted with some

very strange concepts of guidance.

Self Serving Fleeces

One mission worker boldly told me that his fiancée had “laid a fleece” before the Lord as to whether he should continue in missions. The “fleece” was that if she won a competition( the prize was a new car) then

they would know that God wanted him to continue in missionary work!

Such self serving “fleeces” are not that uncommon.

(7 mice)9

One man approached a good missionary friend of ours and

declared to him: “God has revealed to me that He wants to give you a better car. You need to give me your car and then the Lord will provide you

with a better car.”

(Fleece Laying recorded 1x Not recommended)

This Missionary immediately responded: “I am very happy with the old car that I have.

May the Lord give you the better car!”

Taking God’s Name in Vain

Numerous people that

I know have been

approachedby someone telling them: “God told me

to marry you!”

The best answer that I have heard to that is: “Well, He didn’t tell me!”

On several occasions individuals have

approached me declaring that God told them that I would provide them with a certain sum of money.

To this I could respond: “How strange,

when I was talking to the Lord earlier today,

He never mentioned that!”

Presumption is Not Faith

We have frequently had individuals arrive on our doorstep announcing:

“God told me to join your Mission!”

Amazingly, the same people don’t seem to last very long, deserting at the first sign of stress

and difficulty.

Clearly all too many of those who brazenly

assert that God led them and

“God told me…”

are taking the Lord’s Name

in vain.

Guided to Disobey Scripture?

There is a high profile tele-evangelist and self styled

“revivalist” who claimed that an angel told him to tattoo his body!

Well, there is no need to debate the subject of whether it was one of God’s angels or a fallen angel that guided him.

The Scriptures are crystal clear on the issue: “Do not cut

your bodies… or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the

Lord.” Leviticus 19:28

Beware of Deception

There is no way that God would guide anyone to violate His Law and go against the clear teaching of Scripture. Our Lord Jesus Christ said that

we are to be careful that no one deceives us.

He warned of false prophets, false teachers and false shepherds. Religious deception is a very real, clear and present danger.

So, some of the false guidance include:

following our

Feelings/emotions;

Following the crowd/trends/fashions;

laying self serving Fleeces;

following unscriptural

Formulas;

and Fancy claims that

God, or an angel, told me…

Fooling Counsellors

Another false method of guidance involves Fixing the

counselor.

This includes trying out different

counsellors and feeding them with

incomplete, selective and

misleading information so as to

elicit the desired response.

On one occasion when I was ministering at a mission station in Africa a young

man came to me afterwards and requested my counsel.

He had not gone very far when I had to interrupt and

ask: “Have you spoken to one of the mission leaders here?”

Yes, in fact he had. Well, what had they counselled him? He was very evasive

and tried to avoid answering the question.

It transpired that he had sought the counsel of a wide variety of excellent missionaries, both at this mission station and at a

nearby one. And all of them had clearly told him, on the authority of Scripture, that he must reconcile with his

wife.

However, he wanted to divorce his wife and marry the person with whom he was involved in an adulterous relationship.

What this man was doing was seeking as many counsellors as possible and providing incomplete and selective information

in order to elicit the desired response: which was that he could ditch his wife and marry the new attraction in his life!

It is incredible how many people

try to

manipulateministers to

rubber stamp their rebellion and approve of

their abomination.

(Abortion WWJD)

“Since they hated

knowledge and did

not choose to fear the

Lord, since they

would not accept My

advice and spurned

My rebuke, they will

eat the fruit of their

ways . . .”

Proverbs 1:29-31

One pastor described the situation to me in this way: What many people seeking counsel want could be

summarised in these words:

“Pastor, I have a problem, how can you help me to be blessed and in the centre of God’s Will, without

having to repent of my sin or obey the Bible!”

They may not put it that way, but that is really what

many people are

seeking when they

ask for your

counsel.

Otherwise, if what the person really wanted was to know what the

Bible says on this matter, counselling would not take very

long.

You would point out the relevant Scriptures,

the counselee would say Thank You and

head out to put into practice what the Bible

commands.

RECOGNISING GOD’S VOICE

“Now the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. And

the Word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no

widespread Revelation… Now Samuel did not yet know the

Lord, nor was the Word of the Lord yet revealed to him.

And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. So he arose

and went to Eli and said, ‘Here I am, for you did call me.’

Then Eli perceived that the Lord had called the boy.

Therefore Eli said to Samuel, ‘Go, lie down and it shall be,

if He calls you, that you must say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant

hears.’ So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

Now the Lord came and stood and called as at other times,

‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel answered,

‘Speak, for Your servant hears.’

Then the Lord

said to Samuel:

‘Behold, I will do

something in

Israel at which

both ears of

everyone who

hears it will

tingle.’”

1 Samuel 3:1-11

Discerning the Voice of God

In order to understand the Will of God, it is

essential that we recognise the Voice of God.

We cannot do His Will if we cannot discern

His Voice from the clamour of peer pressure,

the noise of the world and

the cacophony of our emotions.

Our Duty to Hear

One of the persistent commands in Scripture is for us to

listen to God and to hear His Word:

“Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it

may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as

the Lord, the God of your fathers has promised you…”

Deuteronomy 6:3

“Blessed is the man

who listens to Me,

watching daily at My

gates, waiting at the

posts of My doors.”

Proverbs 8:34

“The ear that hears the

rebukes of life will

abide among the

wise.” Proverbs 15:31

“Walk prudently when you go to the House of God and draw

near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for

they do not know that they do evil.” Ecclesiastes

“Words of

the wise,

spoken

quietly,

should be

heard …” Ecclesiastes 9:17

“O Lord, I have heard Your speech and was

afraid. O Lord, revive Your work in the midst

of the years!” Habakkuk 3:2

“But the ones

that fell on the

good ground are

those who having

heard the Word

with a noble and

good heart, keep

it and bear fruit

with patience.”

Luke 8:15

“So then, my beloved brethren let every man be

swift to hear …” James 1:19

“He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says

to the churches …” Revelation 2:11

Spiritual deafness is condemned throughout the

Scriptures:

“Behold the Word of the Lord is a reproach to them; they

have no delight in it.” Jeremiah 6:10

“Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious

house, which has eyes to see but does not see, and ears

to hear, but does not hear; for they are a rebellious

house.” Ezekiel 12:2

“But they

refused to heed,

shrugged their

shoulders and

stopped their

ears so that

they could not

hear.”

Zechariah 7:11

“And they will turn their ears

away from the truth, and be

turned aside to fables.” 2 Timothy 4:4

When Last Did God

Speak to You?

What d id He

say?

Did you obey?

Do not expect God to

speak to you again

until you have

obeyed what He has

told you before.

The Purpose of Hearing GodTo deepen and

develop our

relationship

with God.

“God is faithful,

by whom you

were called into

the fellowship of

His Son, Jesus

Christ, our Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:9

To learn principles in

the ways of God.

“And they said to one

another, ‘Did not our

heart burn within

us while He

talked with us on

the road and

while He opened

the Scriptures to

us?’” Luke 24:32

To learn to know

the Will of God.

“And do not be

conformed to this

world, but be

transformed by the

renewing of your

mind, that you may

prove what is that

good and acceptable

and perfect will of

God.” Romans 12:2

To experience and understand more of the character of God.

“That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you,

being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to

comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length

and depth and height – to know the love of Christ which

passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness

of God.” Ephesians 3:17-19

Conditions for Hearing God

Sin is a barrier to hearing from God. “Behold the Lord’s hand

is not shortened that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it

cannot hear, but your iniquities have separated you from your

God; and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He

will not hear.” Isaiah 59:1-2

“God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we

say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness,

we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light

as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and

the Blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.

A Clean Heart

But if we say that we have no sin, we deceive

ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our

sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to

cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:5-9

“Now Faith is the

substance of things

hoped for, the

evidence of things

not seen … by Faith

we understand … but

without Faith it is

impossible to please

God, for He who comes

to God must believe …

He is a rewarder of

those who diligently

seek Him.”

Hebrews 11:1-6

Faith

The more we hear

God speak the

better we will be

able to recognise

His voice. “… The

sheep hear His

voice; and He calls

His own sheep by

name and leads

them out … the

sheep follow Him,

for they know His

voice.”John 10:3-4;

Relationship

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know

them and they follow Me.” John 10:27

When God has your attention in worship you can discern

His voice.

“While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud

overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the

cloud, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son in

whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” Matthew 17:5

Worship & Reverence

Jesus is Lord. He has all authority in Heaven and on earth.

We are commanded to make disciples and teach obedience

to all things that He has commanded. Our attitude needs to

be: ‘I will go wherever You send me. I will do whatever You

tell me.’ When we are receptive and responsive to the Word

of God we can expect to hear from God.

Applying the Lordship of

Christ

to all areas of life

Ways In Which God Speaks

“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you

great and mighty things, that you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3

There have been occasions when God has spoken audibly,

such as to Moses through the Burning Bush (Exodus 3:4); to

Samuel (1 Samuel 3:1-14); and to Paul (Acts 9:4-6).

Audibly

Visions

There have been occasions when God has communicated

through visions, such as to Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:1-28); to

Daniel (Daniel 7;8;10); and to John (Revelation).

Dreams

There have been occasions when God has communicated to

His people through dreams, such as to Jacob (Genesis

28:12-15); to Joseph (Genesis 37:5-9); to Joseph, the

husband of Mary (Matthew 1:20-24; 2:13); and to Paul(Acts 23:11).

Angels

There have been occasions when God has

communicated His will through angels,

such as to Gideon (Judges 6:13-23); to

Abraham (Genesis 18); to Lot (Genesis 19);

to Daniel (Daniel 10); to Mary (Luke 1:26-

38); and to Peter (Acts 12:7-11).

Circumstances of God’s Design

“Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts

will be established.” Proverbs 16:3; “A man’s heart plans

his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” Proverbs 16:9;

“And we know that all things work together for good to those

who love God, to those who are the called according to His

purpose.” Romans 8:28

The Conviction of Our Conscience

“My conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit.”

Romans 9:1; “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to

which you were also called in one body; and be thankful.”

Colossians 3:15; “Having faith and a good conscience,

which some having rejected, concerning the Faith have

suffered shipwreck.” 1Timothy 1:19

The Advice and Counsel of

Dedicated and Mature Christians

“A wise man will hear and

increase learning, and a

man of understanding will

attain wise counsel … the

fear of the Lord is the

beginning of knowledge, but

fools despise wisdom and

instruction. My son, hear the

instruction of your father and

do not forsake the law of your

mother.” Proverbs 1: 5-9

Psalms, Hymns and

Spiritual Songs

“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but

as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the Will of

the Lord is and do not be drunk with wine, in which is

dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one

another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing

and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks

always for all things to God the Father in the Name of our

Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of

God.” Ephesians 5:15-21

“Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom,

teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns

and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the

Lord.” Colossians 3:16

The Gifts of the Spirit

The voice of the Lord can also be discerned through the gifts

that He has given: through those with a “word of Wisdom”, a

“word of Knowledge”, “Prophecy”, Discernment, Languages

and Interpretation (1 Corinthians 12:8-10).

“So we, being many, are one body in Christ and individually

members of one another. Having then gifts differing

according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if

prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or

ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches in

teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with

liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy,

with cheerfulness.” Romans 12:5-8

“And He Himself gave some to be

apostles, some prophets, some

evangelists, and some pastors and

teachers, for the equipping of the

saints for the work of ministry, for the

edifying of the body of Christ till we all

come to the unity of the Faith and of

the knowledge of the Son of God, to a

perfect man, to the measure to the

stature of the fullness of Christ; that

we should no longer be children,

tossed to and fro and carried about

with every wind of doctrine, of the

trickery of men, in the cunning

craftiness of deceitful plotting, but,

speaking the truth in love, may grow

up in all things into Him who is the

head – Christ.” Ephesians 4:11-15

God Speaks through His Word,

The Bible

In our daily quiet time as we study and meditate on His Word.

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,

nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in seat of the scornful;

but his delight is in the Law of the Lord, and in His Law he

meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the

rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose

leaf also shall not wither, and whatever he does shall

prosper.” Psalm 1:1-3

Through

memorised

Scripture

“Let the Word of

Christ dwell in

you richly in all

wisdom,

teaching and

admonishing

one another …”

Colossians 3:16

Through the reading of Scripture. “All Scripture is given by

inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,

for correction, for instruction in righteousness,

that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped

for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Through the preaching and teaching of God’s Word. “So then

faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”

Romans 10:17

“For the Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than

any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul

and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the

thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

Let the Earth Hear His Voice

So God has spoken audibly, and through visions and dreams

and through angels and these are recorded for us to study in

the Bible. Generally we are guided by our daily study of the

Scriptures, through memorised Scripture, through careful

attention to the reading of God’s Word, and listening

attentively to the preaching and teaching of God’s Word.

We can further see

God’s hand in the

circumstances wherein

God works all things

together for good for

those who love Him

and are called

according to His

purpose.

The conviction of our

conscience and the

advice and counsel of

dedicated and mature

Christians can be used

of the Lord to guide us

in His will.

God has given prophets,

teachers, apostles,

evangelists and pastors

to the church and

through their collective

wisdom and knowledge

we can learn much of

the Word of God, the

ways of God and the

Will of God. Through

Psalms, hymns and in

spiritual songs, and

when we are attentive in

worship, we can discern

the voice of God.

Beware of Being Deceived

There are many warnings in Scripture against deception.

“The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately

wicked; who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9

We cannot trust our emotions. We must never confuse voices in our head with the voice of

God. God guides us primarily through the principles and

commands of Scripture.

Our duties and

responsibilities in

the light of His

Great Commission

determine His will

for us

on a daily basis.It is easy to become

disorientated and

confused. Therefore we

should seek the advice

and counsel of

dedicated Christians

and learn not to trust

our own inclinations.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your

own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and

He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes;

fear the Lord and depart from evil.” Proverbs 3:5-7

Distinguishing Between

Subjective and Objective Guidance

We need to discern between subjective and objective

guidance. To use a mountaineering analogy:

Your compass readings are subjective. It is relative

to where you understand your position to be.

A map can be objective, as long as you have

a correct perspective of where you are on

the map. A boundary marker is objective.

It is easy to be lost while climbing on the mountains,

particularly in bad weather and with limited visibility in cloud

cover. Following your compass reading is similar to

following your conscience.

This is subjective and cannot be taken as confirmation of

anything. Compass readings can be misleading if interfered

with, for example by a magnet.

The map is like the Word of

God, objective reality.

However, we can sometimes be completely lost even while

having the perspective that we are making good progress

according to our understanding of where we are on the map.

You can even be on the right path, but going in the wrong

direction.

It helps to have a guide who has travelled this way before.

Godly counsel from mature and experienced Christians can

be a tremendous help.

So too are finding boundary markers. When we come

across a cairn, a pile of rocks, perhaps cemented in with

the name of the location, ravine, beacon, etc. it enables us

to orientate ourselves and recognise where exactly on the

map we are.

If the boundary marker does

not accord with where we

perceived ourselves to be, we

need to recognise that our

perception is what has been

in error.

Seeking Confirmation

In the same way, if we are confronted by a boundary marker

of an authority in our life, such as our parents, pastor,

mission leader or an employer, who informs us that we are off

the path and out of bounds, we need to be humble, teachable

and re-evaluate our position in the light of God’s Word.

The Scripture encourages us to test all things.

We should ask for confirmation, and in major matters we

should expect major confirmations.

Questions to Ask

Is it Scriptural? It is always right to do what the

Scriptures command: To repent of our sins, to do thorough

restitution, to be thankful, to be wholehearted in our duties,

to seek sanctification and holiness.

Does it

glorify God? “Therefore,

whether you eat or

drink, or whatever

you do, do all to

the glory of God.”

1 Corinthians

10:31; “For you

were bought at a

price; therefore

glorify God in your

body and in your

spirit which are

God’s.”

1 Corinthians 6:20

Is it in accordance with the Laws of God? “The

Law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony

of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.” Psalm 19:7

What do the authorities in my life say? “Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right …

Bondservants be obedient to those who are your masters

according to the flesh with fear and trembling, in sincerity of

heart, as to Christ; not with eye service, as men pleasers,

but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the

heart with goodwill doing service as unto the Lord, and not to

men.” Ephesians 6:1-7

Does your spirit within you bear witness by

giving you inner peace about the decision? “I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also

bearing witness in the Holy Spirit.” Romans 9:1;

“And let the

peace of Christ

rule in your

heart to which

also you were

called in one

body; and be

thankful.”

Colossians 3:15

How do you know that

this is God’s will?

Whose counsel have you sought?

God never guides His people

to disobey His Word.

“Jesus said ‘If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teaching.’” John 14: 23

When man listens – God speaks!

“Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of

wickedness; and receive with meekness the implanted Word,

which is able to save your souls, but be doers of the Word,

and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like

a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes

himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of

man he was,

but he who looks into the perfect Law of liberty and

continues in it and is not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of

the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”

James 1:21-25

Frontline Fellowship

PO Box 74

Newlands

7725

Cape Town

South Africa

E-mail: admin@frontline.org.za

Web: www.frontline.org.za